Lohia’s foreign policy: a mix of hardnosed realism and idealistic vision 

By
Randeep Wadehra

He was destined to impact India’s political thought processes. He had set a new ideological paradigm that attracted diehard followers over a period of time often described as Lohiates – a term that was treated as a badge of honor, as well as a passport to success at the hustings, by them. Although his contributions to domestic political discourse have been widely acknowledged it is his role in influencing free India’s foreign policy template that gets seldom highlighted. True, his detractors do not think much of his impact on India’s role on the global stage; yet, he was an internationalist of no mean stature – something this essay would attempt to underscore. As the informed reader would notice, Lohia was right in several of his postulations even though he erred in others.

Born in Akbarpur of what is today the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh on 23rd March, 1910, Rammanohar Lohia graduated from Kolkata’s Vidyasagar College. For higher studies he preferred to go abroad – initially England but later Berlin which he found more suitable to his temperament.  He did Ph D in Economics from the Berlin University in 1932; the subject for his thesis was Salt and Satyagraha. Those were turbulent times in Europe in general and Germany in particular. The Social Democrats watched helplessly as Hitler’s Nazis became increasingly assertive. In fact racial supremacist impulses were becoming increasingly manifest in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The fact that the Socialist Cause was no more sacrosanct for various Communist entities existing in the continent only exacerbated matters. This, in turn, enabled the German Nazi Party to garner support from various capitalist entities both within and outside of Germany. Even as he watched the various current events influencing the course of history Lohia acquired sharper insights into the manner in which these influenced mankind’s destiny through his reading of the works of Marx and Hegel in original (German language). However, never the one to accept anything at face value he realized how these works were inadequate in understanding the processes of history in totality.

Meanwhile, political struggle of a different kind was taking place in India. This was the period (1930-32 and even later) when Gandhiji had intensified national struggle against the British by launching the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Dandi March (he broke the salt related laws on 6th April, 1930) that launched the freedom movement into a decisive phase. The British repression, especially the merciless beating up of Satyagrahis at Dharsana, impelled him to approach the League of Nations. However, although Lohia’s karmabhoomi was to be India his global vision remained sharp and wide-ranging.

Having acquired a Socialist worldview owing to his sympathies with the German Socialist Party during his stay in Berlin, he developed a great dislike for fascism, imperialism and capitalism. In 1933 Lohia returned to India. Subsequently, his experiences during his stay in Europe, especially Germany, were to mould his views on India’s foreign policy. One can discern the evidence of his soft corner for Socialism, when in April 1938 – during the fourth session of the Congress Socialist Party – Lohia moved a resolution which described the Soviet Union as the only major power working for world freedom and peace and condemned Great Britain’s foreign policy as pro-Fascist that encouraged the forces of reaction and war. Elsewhere, he did praise the United States but, essentially, his sympathies were with the socialist states.

Moreover, during his tenure with the foreign affairs cell of Indian National Congress (1936-38), Lohia had advocated formulation of a foreign policy that ought to be distinct from what the British rulers were pursuing.  In this regard he had written a letter to Gandhiji in 1940, which was subsequently published in the Harijan. In this letter Lohia enunciated a four point program to usher in world peace. These points, in brief, were:

• No nation shall be a slave to another. The newly independent countries would conduct elections on the basis of universal adult franchise, constitute legislatures wherein the elected representatives would draw a constitution.

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 Very well researched article interspersed with enlightening perspectives from Wadehra himself. In the south , Lohia was disliked for his Hindi Chauvinism . He was also the first great political leader who tapped the vote bank of OBC's in the north. That he had very clear perspectives on international affairs is a revelation. Congrats Wadehra for bringing out this aspect. It also contrasts Lohia with the simpleton Nehru was!

N.Kannan | January 9, 2011